Sunday, March 27, 2011

RPCV Publisher of Travel Books Written by RPCVs

Christopher Beale (Eastern Caribbean 2005-07 ) has done an amazing thing for RPCV writers. He had built a book publishing company–Other Places Publishing–located in North Carolina that publishes travel guides written by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who, as he says, ”Few travelers (or travel guides) have the experience and local knowledge that an RPCV has about his or her country.”

Chris started in early 2009 to develop his travel guides written and researched by RPCVs. To date, they had published eight book with another 10 coming out within the next few months. With a few exceptions, everyone who works with Chris, from editors, writers, researchers andphotographers, are RPCVs.

Today, Other Places Publishing has guide books for Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific. The newest publication isMaking Peace with the World Photographs of Peace Corps Volunteers by Richard Sitler (Jamaica 2000-02). Sitler, who worked at newspapers in Ohio, Indiana, New Hampshire and New Jersey, returned to Jamaica in 2006 as a Crisis Corps Volunteers, then traveled the world to record the stories of PCVs. Rather than look back on the 50 years of the agency, Making Peace with the World,showcases the Peace Corps as it is today. To do the book, Richard spent two years going to 22 countries on five continents.

Other RPCVs who have written or contributed to travel books for Chris, and who were in the Peace Corps between 2000 and 2010, are: